BUCK NOT GUILTY

The jury in the PETER BUCK alleged air rage trial have found him not guilty of all charges.

Buck 45, was alleged to have gone on the rampage on board a British Airways flight from Seattle to London on April 20 last year.

He was alleged to have assaulted two cabin crew members, mistaken a food trolley for a CD player and tried to insert a disc into it, as well as trying to sit next to a female passenger he had never met, claiming that she was his wife.

He denied being drunk on board an aircraft, assaulting cabin staff and damaging property.

A statement has been read outside court on Buck’s behalf by his solicitor, which said: “I am grateful to the court, the jury and my lawyers to my family, friends and supporters who have stood by me throughout this experience.

“I am obviously relieved to be finished here and I look forward to be returning my attention to my family, my band and music.”

During the trial, REM bandmates Mike Mills and Michael Stipe gave evidence, the latter telling Isleworth Crown Court that when he first met Buck, he was “my only friend” and “like my big brother” and said his bandmate was a “southern gentleman”.